Ibervillea is a small genus of flowering plants in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, placed in the order Cucurbitales. The genus comprises around eight accepted species of perennial climbing or scrambling vines native to the arid and semi-arid regions of North and Central America, ranging from Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas in the United States south through Mexico to Belize and Guatemala.
As members of the cucumber family, ibervilleas produce distinctive lobed or deeply divided leaves and small flowers, bearing fleshy fruits that are characteristic of the Cucurbitaceae. The genus includes species adapted to dry scrubland and desert-edge habitats. Notable species include Ibervillea sonorae, found in the Sonoran Desert region, and Ibervillea tenuisecta (Guadalupe canyon gourd), a species native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
The genus was first described and published in the journal Erythea (Vol. 3, p. 75) in 1895. It is named in honour of Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (1661–1706), the French-Canadian soldier, naval officer, privateer, and explorer who founded the French colony of Louisiana.
Etymology
The genus name Ibervillea honours Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (1661–1706), a French-Canadian soldier, ship captain, explorer, colonial administrator, privateer, and founder of the French colony of Louisiana in New France. The genus was first formally described in 1895.
Distribution
Ibervillea is native to the arid and semi-arid zones of the southwestern United States — including Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas — extending south through Mexico to Belize and Guatemala.
